1. Field
This invention is in the field of devices for holding suture packs during a surgical operation.
2. State of the Art
During an operation, surgical assistants, or scrub nurses, must act quickly and with precision. With regard to handling sutures (i.e., surgical threads) used to bind surgical incisions, presently suture packets, or envelopes, are arranged on a sterile field (i.e., sterile table). When sutures are needed, currently a surgical assistant, or scrub nurse, must use both hands to select the proper suture from the table, open the suture packet, then extract, load, and pass the suture thread to a surgeon.
Some prior art provide for suture holders in connection with surgical procedures: Robson U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,714 provides a suture rack with interlocking trays with compartments containing leaf spring clips to hold suture packets. The trays are supported on a base where trays can lock together. Ruffa U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,089 is a suture and surgical accessory rack having a disposable sterile screen supported on a bar frame. The disposable sterile screen has pockets which can hold sutures, needles, and scissors. Erickson U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,039 is suture holder made of a resilient material having parallel slits formed by parallel abutments of the resilient material. Suture thread is held within the slits while suture needles are inserted into the abutments for temporary storage. Tauber U.S. Pat. No. 2,588,589 is a surgeon's prethreaded needle holder. The invention provides elongate members having grooved spaces for holding suture thread and spring-like members for holding prethreaded needles.
Wallin U.S. Pat. No. 1,248,760 is a towel rack that is structurally similar to the instant invention. Wallin provides a plurality of spring loops which are arranged in very close proximity to each other, even touching, thereby permitting towels to be inserted therebetween; the spring loops are mounted on a supporting board. Whereas in Wallin, towels are held between the loops; in this invention, the sutures are held within coils of spring loops. Whereas in Wallin, the spring loops are held in holes in the towel rack; in the instant invention, spring loops can be secured permanently in the base of the suture holder by means of a welded or soldered connection. Whereas in Wallin, the loops need not be formed into coils; in this invention, coils are absolutely needed to hold suture packets in place.
Other similar devices of the prior art are as follows: Welch U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,489 is a desk organizer where loops formed by metallic strips serves as a storage rack for letters and other papers. Phillips U.S. Pat. No. 780,443 is also a desk organizer where a coiled spring mounted on a supporting board holds papers and other accessories. Rand U.S. Pat. No. 79,776 is a whip holder, patented back in 1868. Rand also has loops formed by metallic strips in the shape of bows mounted on a supporting board. The whips are held in place between the metallic loops.
None of the prior art provides a suture holder that allows a scrub nurse to load and discard sutures with one hand and that is simple to use and, at the same time, inexpensive to manufacture.